Adelinas, an upscale Italian restaurant, opened Jan. 5, 2022, at the corner of Germantown and East Southampton avenues, in the former home of Paris Bistro and before that, The Melting Pot, a delightful fondue restaurant.

It was not the best time to open a restaurant since there were lots of people who would still not go to restaurants because of COVID-19 fears. Many area restaurants closed either during or in the wake of the pandemic, including Mica, Campbell’s Place, Iron Hill Brewery, Fiesta Pizza, Paris Bistro, Pizzeria Nonna and Earth Bread + Brewery.

But Adelinas seems to be thriving. During our visit on the last Sunday night in October, the place was packed, possibly because of the widespread belief that Chestnut Hill is lacking enough upscale dining options, especially since it is in one of the city’s most affluent neighborhoods. (According to a 2025 report from Pew Center Research, the 19118 zip code has the highest property taxes in the city, with a median tax bill of $8,799.)

Adelinas was opened by Antonio Presta and his brother, Giuliano (the restaurant is named for their grandmother), whose family owned the Bella Trattoria restaurant in Manayunk for many years but it is now closed. Another Manayunk restaurant they owned, Craft, closed in September 2021 because of flooding from Hurricane Ida.

However, two pizza shops they own, both called Trios Tomato Pie, in Glenside for 14 years and Elkins Park for seven years, are still thriving, as is Marzano Ristorante in Jenkintown, a BYOB, since 2014. We have taken friends to Marzano several times in recent years and always enjoyed it thoroughly.

“My dad came to the U.S. at age 18 from Italy and spoke no English,” said Antonio Presta in an earlier interview. “He worked in a car wash and ended up in a pizzeria. Eventually he wound up owning his own place, as so many immigrants do.”

According to Presta, a close friend of his, Justin Bogle, who in 2009 became the youngest American chef, at age 28, to earn two Michelin stars, recently helped Adelinas revamp its menus.

Adelinas is certainly one of the most attractive restaurants in the area. In the rear of the dining room is a stunning wall mural of multishaded moss and dried flowers surrounding the restaurant’s gold logo.

Glazed tiles constitute a textured backsplash to the distressed metallic bar top and padded stools. The dining areas combine plush upholstered chairs into intimate groupings. The restaurant seats over 80 guests, with an additional 30 outdoors when weather permits.

Online reviews of Adelinas are mostly raves. Typical is this five-star review posted Sept. 26 on Yelp by Ahashta J: “This is officially our family’s favorite restaurant. This time we were pleased to find there were some edits to the menu. New drinks. New meatballs. They were good before, better now with gravy and polenta. The cheesy focaccia is always a winner. The filet, tagliatelle and spicy rigatoni were delicious, as usual. My husband almost cried when the waiter told us the mint pesto gnocchi was living its last days on the menu. He was so distraught, he ordered an extra one to go home!”

In addition to the regular menu, diners have an option of three courses at $75 per person in which the chef selects the courses based on your preferences. The entire table must participate. An optional three-course wine pairing is $35 per person.

During our most recent visit, the mint pesto gnocchi referred to by the Yelp contributor ($18) was suffused with the flavor of pine nuts and sunflower seeds, but the hero of the dish was the soft, divine little balls of pasta that were the most magical gnocchi we have ever tasted. Its soft finish reverberated in waves of velvet for several seconds on my tongue. An entree of roasted halibut ($35) was also feather-light and as juicy and sweet as a just-picked Jersey tomato in August. A dessert of chocolate peanut butter cake ($14) was creamy, dreamy gold.

A cocktail, Northwestern ($16) with Jim Beam peach, was great but not strong enough. It tasted like a non-alcoholic drink.

Emily, our server, the hostess and a food runner were all very pleasant and accommodating. Free parking is available in the large lot behind the restaurant and in front of the Market at the Fareway.

For more information, visit adelinasitalian.com. Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com.